Saturdays from June 27th,
7:50UK/8:50 in France,
France 2 / Pluzz.fr (will require a VPN or alternative) / or see below.
Series 26, it’s the actual 25th anniversary year of our favourite French summer series, the grandfather of the modern adventure game, Fort Boyard.
This year another ten episodes and changes are afoot! The team now have to earn the right to enter by finding medallions in various places at the fort’s entrance, there are new walkways around the fort, a new “bit” called The Cage where teams duel off against Pere Fouras’ all-star celebrity team for keys under the auspices of Rouge (Blanche’s twin sister) and even the fort’s basement is back in use for prisoners to escape from against the clock. Hurrah!
Pere Fouras is going big on celebrity characters this year, six former contestants make up the All-Stars, the watchtower has turned from the Magic Academy into the Boyard Academy, featuring a rotating set of experts to puzzle the teams (although last year’s Vincent C remains one of them), comedian Willy Rovelli still has his restaurant and actress and former Miss France Delphine Wespiser continues playing Judge Blanche, but also plays twin sister Rouge.
There are five new cells and three new adventures but once again the focus of the new stuff seems to be on the extra-curricular – the assault on the fort, the cage, the great escape and undoubtably there will be new games in the Council as well.
It all sounds very exciting, it’s tempered rather by the fact episodes are looking at 2:10-15 in length (much preferred it around 1:30, although it’s been some years since that happened), and we very much hope the new games are of the mechanical variety and not “the producer feels like pushing a button to release the key” variety. We hope not to feel the hands of the production too much and there is not a need to basically fix things to make other things happen.
Fingers crossed for a classic vintage!
Was Luce having a nosebleed in the middle of Tete Chercheuse there?
It looks like they had some of that red liquid going spare so they put it in the worm drop as well. Which probably explains why it ended up all over her face by the end.
Yeah I don’t think that’s blood, production would definitely stopped it if it was (and you will know if your nose is bleeding usually).
Watching last night’s now, that’s the first time Araignee lived up to its potential.
I like Egout, but I hope there’s some editing going on because 90 seconds seems ridiculously short for it.
I know it was won last week but still.
I remember seeing a spoiler image for the first episode and seeing a list of all the games played with the time limits for everything in the first ten-or-so games I saw all in the 2:00-2:45 range. It’s almost definitely edited for the keys, and I reckon that’d translate onwards for the games with the clue clock, but I’m usually pretty cynical (especially with that game of Percolator last week that really should have been won), so…
No almost definitely about it, it’s definitely happening – but at least with the tests there’s a proper water clock governing it.
It would be nice to have some sort of proper basis to judge the adventures.
If there going to edit them down to save time on the show they should make a full version of the tests online.
Ooh, Swedish Fort started this week I believe.
Rather interesting way they go about the prison: turn it into a key game!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uckGuqKiwYE
Also, they’ve got their own La Bouille, wouldn’t surprise me if he was on their Gladiators or something.
In other news the Chinese are set to film their own version there next month.
It’s the last in the series tonight! I thought this was ep 9, but in fact it’s ep 10.
In case you were wondering what Les Amouraux was a take off of in Gagarine TV this week, it’s a show called Les Z’amours, the French version of The Newlywed Game, although I couldn’t tell you the rules they were going by.
For those who haven’t seen it, here’s how the endgame of Z’amours is supposed to be:
One half of the pair is given questions regarding themselves, favourite colour, favourite school subject, that sort of thing. They have to decide whether or not their partner knows what their answer is. If they decide to not give it, the question’s thrown out, if the partner goes for it, then whether it’s right or wrong is noted down. They need to hit 7 out of 10 in 45 seconds for the prize.
I’ve not seen this episode so I have no clue how it’s been reworked yet.
7 out of 11, even.
Ta, five correct answers in a minute, comedian Jean-Marie Bigard in PF’s den and his wife (presumably) in the gyroscope. No penalty for a wrong guess, but no reason for Bigard to throw out a question either.
Willy was the funniest bit of cylindres. I’m glad they’re using his talents outside of Chez Willy.
Interesting webchat with Fort Boyard’s creative director:
http://www.fortboyard-leforum.fr/t2799-conversation-avec-la-production-t-chat-1-du-jeudi-24-septembre-2015
Apparently they don’t fix it so 7 keys 0 prisoners is possible, they’d drop Blanche (I remain unconvinced), people *did* successfully complete the turntable in practice, they want more games of luck for Blanche, they have quite a few technical difficulties which is why you see some games very regularly as they’re stand-bys, they’d have loved it if two people did The Great Escape simultaneously it was hilarious in practice, there was a deliberate ploy to change things every week (I did like this bit – that’s why there were different people taking the Boyard Academy/Willy’s Restaurant/Passe Muraille’s costumes/Gagarine TV), the channel are happy with the ratings.
I think that’s most of the interesting stuff.
Ok so I’ve just finished up the season with the last episode (and remembering that I watched Jean-Pascal on Star Academy the year I lived in France) and I’m just wondering a couple of things:
1. Does Pere Fouras have more of a “mean/twisted” streak then I’m used to?
2. What’s with all the English on the fort games (ie. exit in Great escape, push on Ketchuperie, Garage)? Are they aiming for the UK/US markets? Or is it accepted that most countries that film there will understand these words? Just seems a bit bizarre – especially the buttons marked “Push”.
This is the first time in a number of years I’ve watched the entire season so I’m not sure if I’m missing something that has changed in years gone by. I also pine for the years where they had the varying treasure room door (with 5/6/7 keys opening various heights) so there’s that too.
Ryan 🙂